Isaiah Esipisu
27 April 2006
Nairobi — Ever since the introduction of tissue culture bananas in Central Province by the Africa Harvest Biotech Foundation International (AHBFI), there has been an upsurge in production of the crop, and farmers harvesting more than the market can hold have had to look for new ways of using and storing it.
Besides making banana wine (a group of farmers is planning to establish a winemaking facility in Muranga), farmers have adopted a new drying technique that preserves their produce for up to two years while maintaining their original value without chemical preservatives.
Using locally assembled solar energy dryers the farmers dry the bananas then store them in crisp and powder form. These are then sold in polythene bags or used to bake banana cakes, cookies and doughnuts, which can last for several months.
According to nutritionists, ripe banana powder is a perfect substitute for sugar. "The powder can be used in porridge, cereals for breakfast, or as a general sweetener," says Mary Njenga, director of Kiburi Food Processors, the firm that introduced the drying technology in the province.
"Drying of fruits has come in time. We have been wondering what to do with our products, especially the bananas now in plenty," says John Mwaniki, chairman for Rumangaga farmers Self Help Group in Murang'a.
But bananas are not the only crops to benefit from the drying technique. Other foods like mangoes, pineapples, tomatoes and other horticultural products have been saved from perishing or from brokers coming with lorries and vans to purchase at very low prices.
"The biggest challenge here had been the markets which are far, and the perishable, bulky goods. It has been an up hill task for us but now the technology has changed all this and we have cut loses," says Mwaniki.
When foodstuffs are dried they are reduced to very light weights. "Products like tomatoes contain 90 per cent water and drying them eliminates all the water, leaving all nutritional content intact," says Njenga.
"Ten kilogrammes of tomatoes are reduced to one. The same happens to mangoes since the seed has to be removed before drying."
This makes transport and storage of the foods easier and manageable. The farmers say that dried tomatoes in powder form have a better taste on food than when used fresh. Nutritionists also say that drying does not compromise the nutritional value.
To make the solar dryer, a wooden hollow box is made then fixed with fi ve sliding drawers made from wire mesh. The top is covered with transparent glass and the rest of the body on the outside painted black for maximum heat. The bottom part is left hollow to allow heat into the bottom drawer layers. Each drawer is pulled out and fi lled with fi ve kilogramme slices of the product to be dried.
"On a hot day, 25 kilogrammes of the products can be dried in six hours," says Njenga.
Kiburi Food Processors has found a market for dry horticultural products in supermarkets especially in Westlands, Nairobi. "For every 100 grammes of a product we sell at Sh100," she says. The same quantity according to farmers would cost Sh20 when fresh and rot if not sold in time.
Kenyans living abroad have also joined the list of customers. They import mukimo, a Kikuyu traditional food, which is dried and stored as powder. "Mukimo powder is very promising in the export market," says Njenga.
The farmers in the province have formed self-help groups and are producing plenty of products. "We are now dealing with 115 self-help groups planting horticultural crops," says David Kamanga, the communication officer for AHBFI.
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